Experimental Open World Traversal for Blind Players

Open World Traversal for Blind Players

A friend told me recently that there wasn't really an effective accessibility option for open world traversal and exploration for blind players. That what options there were either were golden path navigation, or using more of a GPS system to move around between preset destinations. I wanted to experiment with additional options, as well as better learn how to use Godot at the same time.

Movement

To move in this experiment, either use WASD or Arrow Keys to set an intended direction. The game will then shoot out a number of raycasts to try and find a walkable location in the vague direction of where you indicated, attempting to select the most straightforward path, but veering significantly as necessary.

It then takes the chosen destination and uses it as a destination for something similar to a click to move system like you might find in Diablo or similar, moving you through the environment and around obstacles to get to your chosen destination.

Radar

As you move through the environment, any blocking object that gets too close will ping your radar, and you will be told briefly what the object is, letting you know if you are passing through piles of rubble, or a forest full of trees.

Current Version 01

This is the very first version of the experiment and functionality is basic. I do have plans to flesh this out more, but I wanted to post the first workingish model that I had.

Additional plans include:
Having both a cone and area radar giving a better idea of what is in front of you versus what is at your sides.

Switching over to navmesh for better navigation, as well as checking to see if there are possible destination points ahead that are navigable even if they have direct blockers right in front of you.

Having a detail button, that after you encounter an obstacle, it lets you tap once for a short description, or twice for a longer description.

Short name: Tree
Short Description: Lightning Struck Oak
Long Description: "This oak was struck by lightning splitting it down the trunk..."

Having a move to and use button. This will let you navigate to a specific obstacle that you encounter, and if possible, use it. Like upon noticing a tree, you could move to the tree and then chop it down for wood.

Adding a landmark option, where non-blocking landmarks can be added to the scene that give a long description when first encountered, so you can be given pieces of environmental storytelling like a beautiful sunrise or a gory battlefield.